I love the videos I have watched so far! I sent one over to my parents. We live in CT as well. I’m decluttering as I’m listening to you guys. Husband is away on business and the 3 teens are with their other parents!! My husband will not notice the things I threw out!! And I agree with the curb appeal
Excellent! After 30 years living in Alaska, we will be selling the house and moving to a smaller home in the lower-48, so major downsizing effort. Snowmobiles, ATV plow, table saw, books, furniture, etc. all must go before we drive 2,900 miles to the lower-48.
I moved an older (widowed) family member to a walkable community near her siblings about 10 years ago. House moved into was same sized 2 bed/2 bath, so only some giving/selling & upgrading to do with her personal belongings. It was several of us family members that helped her over the course of 6 months. To lessen future worries; she sold and upgraded her car, lawn/landscaping is hired out and has weekly grocery delivery. She also took time revisit insurance plans and legally finalize her 'end game'. It made a huge difference on her daily life and she has since retired in place.
I really want it to say thank you for all of your knowledge and taking the time to make this video. I am 65 single have lived here 23 years I have been single for many many years and I have no one to talk too, they have either died or moved away...your discussion has helped given me hope, a game plan, guidance and a feeling of much needed relief! Thank you very much.
Thank you for sharing this Linda. Your words give us inspiration to keep creating more relevant content. It helps us as well as we continue to let our lives evolve in this phase of life. Mark and Jody
Were selling our 1st house that weve lived in for 31 yrs. It’s bittersweet for sure but it’s time. I said he same thing to my wife…let’s let some young couple raise their family in this great house and their kids will most likely go to the great public schools our kids did. Great way of looking at it! We’re very lucky that we’re moving into our summer place on Cape Cod about 80 miles away and don’t have to buy another place. Key is NO debt. Good video folks
Boy, I need to see and hear you talk about this. My stepson wants us to downsize, throw all our "junk" out in the trash, sell our house and move to a small place with just a couple of suitcases. I have never been more offended in my entire life. I got so depressed, we both feel paralyzed to do anything. Yes, we need to downsize, sell our house well and move but not like that...So nice to listen to this channel...
Hi Ludmila. Yes downsizing can create interesting family dynamics. It’s best for you and your partner/spouse to work on this together. The first step is to make the commitment then work through the steps. Look at previous comments on this video and we posted a link to worksheets that will help you in the process. Feel free to ask more questions. Mark and Jody
First thing is to clean house like company coming. Get rid of the trash Second- take one room of kid gone and clean it out and send stuff kid wants to keep by mail. 3rd-clean attic and give away what will not use in 2 yrs 4th- clean basement and same rule about not use it in 2 yrs out it goes Put stuff on Facebook or craigslist and sell it as you go. Take time. 5th-Work in yard. Start cleaning it up step by step- grass, bushes, shed, fence. 6th- Kitchen. Go thru a few cabinets each day and throw out what have not used or expired of too old. All of this is very emotional. So you may just do a drawer and have to wait a few days to start again. But you are just getting rid of stuff you really dont use or need at this point. 7th. Books, DVD, CDs, old broken furniture, old magazines, old noteboooks. Burn those that have confidential information and throw rest away or give away.Okay to watch everything or read it first. Make take a few months. 8th. Pantry in kitchen or laundry. Just go through it all and just throw away old not used stuff. 9th Closet. Start going thru and get rid of stuff not worn or used in 2 years of plan to not use.-emotional 10th Drawers and ect- go thru them. Throw away what is too small, too large, too old, and ect. Purge. II Second part Now think of you are going on vacation for two months to Tahiti. Get rid of stuff that will not keep for two months or really know will not need it. III Third part Pretend like you will be moving in a year. What size of moving truck or moving company bill do you want? Go back thru steps 1-10 again. Should you bring it to the new place? Is it broken? Is it still useful? Is it in style? Purge for the third time. IV Forth part Now pretend like you are going to sell your house in 5 months. What will you pack and what will you get rid of. Go thru steps 1-10 again and this time clean as you go. Consider painting some of the rooms that have not been painted for ever and hiring a handy man to fix the broken fence or other that has been broken forever. V Fifth. You are now pretty well set. Purged and house looks much better and in better order. The reason you have to do it in stages is due to the emotion of leaving a home or neighborhood you have lived in a long time. Give yourself a year. Then decide if you will move or stay.
Although my husband wasn't retired yet, because of the pandemic he now works from home three days a week and two days in the office. We decided it was time to downsize, we are empty nesters and had a large home on an acre treed lot that we had custom built 29 year's ago. Lucky we were both ready for a change and couldn't be happier. We have an urban modern condo, minimized our lives to what is truly important to us! Our family is very happy and supportive with our change, quite impressed actually 😊 My husband said to me the day we moved into our beautiful new home, it's like we're newlyweds only with money😊🍁
People in my community live in their homes until they die. I do not understand why I need to go to a facility. My grandmother lived in her home exactly until the day she died. I don’t have anyone coming around, and I don’t expect anyone coming to help me anytime soon, but my house is small and I can handle it. My life has been a “ha ha”moment since I can remember. I am not going anywhere if if I can help it. As far as memories are concerned, that’s not as important as you think. You are very fortunate… Downsizing is not difficult, I’ve been doing it all my life because I do not do well with clutter. I find this a scary conversation because I have no one to talk to and when you go to a residence just to look around they start sending emails galore. It is what it is, I am in God’s hands because I don’t have a partner. Thanks for the video.
This is so true. My brother and I had to purge my dad's stuff when he passed away. Then we had to move my mom to an assisted living facility and we had to do it again. Oh the stuff we had to get rid of and sell. Now my husband's and I are purging.
Hi Kathryn. Thanks for weighing in on Heidi's comment. Jody and I are committed to not leave any kind of mess behind. So we are constantly letting go of things in our life we no longer use.
Omg same, my dad passed first, so my sister and I had to purge his, and then we moved my mom into assisted living and had to purge hers. It's so much. Although on the plus side, we have managed to get rid of our storage units and now have everything just in our house and garage. I keep purging more.. I don't want to leave my kids the task of having to do it.
Hi Norma. Here is the link to our blog on the same topic. At the end, you can download our worksheet that I think you will find very helpful. retirementtransformed.com/the-emotional-side-of-downsizing/
Just newly retired, I'm trying to declutter by moving my grown kids stuff to a storage unit...Maybe not the ideal arrangement, but saves the time of going through each item and deciding on a save/not save for each. Our home is so much easier to organize without "other people's stuff".
The sentimental things are the hardest for sure. I think we mention taking photos of those things and making an album with the photos in it. It’s a fun project and allows you to sit and take a trip down memory lane when you feel like it. It’s also nice to leave that behind for your loved ones. Keep up the great work!
We downsized to a beautiful condo that we fully remodeled to serve our needs as we age. We still live in the same neighborhood about 3 blocks from our old family home of 40 years. We kept the wonderful things that give us comfort and joy. We let go of other "things" that could be used better by other people. We gave the large family home to our daughters family and built a smaller low maintenance home in the desert so we can get out of the cold winters. We love both of our homes for different reasons, but mostly we love having the things we need and feeling that we will not burden our children with the responsibility of managing our "stuff". It has been so nice to create our new life together.
I’ve been decluttering in anticipation of downsizing for 4 years. I’m now 66 and almost done - papers and books next. But now find myself having second thoughts about moving out of a major metro area. I’m stuck.
Hi Thedriftwoodlover, Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and we certainly can relate to being stuck. If you head to our website, we have a blog on this topic and a link to the worksheets we created for this very issue. retirementtransformed.com/the-emotional-side-of-downsizing/ Let us know if they were helpful. Gratefully, Mark and Jody Rollins
Hi Driftwoodlover! Maybe now that you have decluttered, you'd like to stay where you are for a while, and of course, maintain the uncluttered life you created. Do you HAVE to move?
Can you keep up your place yourself and your lifestyle. That may mean just declutter and stay in place. Some people just move up the street or closer to relatives for help as yard work and stairs become unmanageable as get older.
Thank you Joe. Check out our three part series on getting ready for retirement. We break it down by 5-10 years out, 1-5, then the last year before you step into retirement. Let us know what you think.
THX for the video. What I like about your comments is the importance of pre-planning and taking time. That list and values of present and future home. Currently on my own and to retire in 6 months. With this a daughter who offerred me to move into the garden suite in another province to a brother who was very willing to show me other homes in the same area but less maintenance. All with good intentions such as my ability to maintain my present home but still my decision. What is helpful at this point also the realization of the need to update legal documents - PD, EPOA and last will and testament.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment! It’s great to hear that you found the video helpful. Pre-planning and taking time to consider all options are indeed crucial steps. Best of luck with your upcoming retirement and the decisions ahead. Updating legal documents is a wise move. Wishing you all the best!
This is one of our most popular videos and we appreciative you commenting. Jody and I have such an open mind in this area, constantly reassessing and adapting.
Well guys - you touched a real nerve here. I am 75 and woke up one morning with an epifany about the amount of stuff in our 4 bedroom colonial. Our daughters had already moved out with what they wanted so that was half of it. I began with my garage, stood in the middle, looked straight ahead and called it 12:00 o'clock. I said to me, what is there, has it moved in a year, do I have more than one of it, does a local daughter want it. Based on the answers it went out to the driveway apron. At the end of this a pile stretched for about 12 feet across and 3 feet high. A week later I stood in the same spot and could not remember what used to be there. Now I am slowly moving thru the house drawer by drawer shelf by shelf box by box and either it goes to charity, that one local daughter, back in for later, or trash. The second pile went out, and 2 loads to charity. I found a christen charity that will take all things home content and home living, furniture to plates. So far, I have not missed anything!!! Did I tell you that so far, it is mostly NOT my wife's stuff - she moves slowly. Bob S - Cleveland
It's going to be different for everyone. But as we discuss in the video, we are not going to leave the chore of downsizing to our children. My parents left Jody, me, and the rest of our family the process of emptying out a four bedroom house filled with all of THEIR treasures. It was so difficult do make those decisions for them.
Hi Kristi. I’m glad you found this helpful. Purging can be stressful, but also allows some of what you purge to get reused by others. We donated a lot which feels good. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Mark and Jody
I found this very useful. I am a widower and I liked how you explored the emotion aspects of the move. You two shared. As I am on my own I used my journal to note how I was feeling emotionally. I have just started the process and thank you for this clip which has helped me with my planning
It is best to do it and then stop so the emotion can calm down. Then begin again. Do a bit of purge in each area then go back around and purge a bit more.
Glad it was helpful! It’s not the easiest topic to discuss or process to get through. But starting the conversation helps. Did you download our checklist or worksheet for downsizing?
How do you after my husband passed away a year ago and how do you get to the point where it’s OK to purge things like clothing and things that he collected that he loved but necessarily I don’t
Hi Jodi. We are sorry for your loss and understand completely how hard it is to make this purge. Maybe think about what your husband would want you to do. As far as clothes, donating them to a good charity where they are given to someone who needs them is one idea. That way you know that they are being put to some good use. And the things he collected you could hold onto a few of them and keep using them. For instance maybe some favorite kitchen utensils. With the rest of it you could take photos and make a scrap book. Print the photo and write about it and keep the album. Try and find some friends who can help you with this project. We hope this helps. Mark and Jody
The first year of death is hardest. Second year better. You might want to wait till end of second year to start clearing out. Five years to grieve before is really much better.
Many of you are really enjoying this video, which is great. Here is a link to our blog on the same topic. At the end of the blog is another link to the worksheet we developed when we do a live training. Please feel free to download it. Mark and Jody retirementtransformed.com/the-emotional-side-of-downsizing/
